Brown butter pasta

Simply delicious: Brown butter pasta

If it's true that less is more, then this dish proves it. Brown butter pasta, also called burnt butter pasta, is pure simplicity.

As the butter is heated, milk solids separate from the butterfat, and they collect on the bottom of the frying pan. Cooked milk solids take on a brown color and have a toasty flavor. Try this easy recipe and you'll see that sometimes it's okay to burn your food.

Brown Butter Pasta

1/2 pound fettuccine
1/2 Tbsp. salt
6 Tbsp. butter
grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add fettuccine and salt. Stir occasionally.
2. While the fettuccine cooks, melt butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. When the butter begins to bubble, stir frequently for 3 minutes. Then adjust heat to low, and continue stirring for another 1-2 minutes, or until butter is uniformly brown. Turn off heat and leave pan on the burner to stay warm.
3. When fettuccine is al dente, drain, and place into serving bowl.
4. Pour the brown butter over the fettuccine, stirring for even distribution. Place some fettuccine into the frying pan, stir it around to collect remaining butter, and return it to the bowl.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the fettuccine, and toss to mix.

Enjoy!

 Photo by H. Moyer.